Harris enters healthcare industry, appoints CMO

Harris Corporation has created a Healthcare Solutions business to transplant proprietary IT capabilities, including imaging and digital content management, into healthcare.

To assist in the transition, Bart Harmon, MD, MPH, a leader in military healthcare and health information systems, has joined Harris as chief medical officer (CMO) of the company’s new Healthcare Solutions business. Harmon will be based at the Harris’ offices in Falls Church, Va. 
 
Prior to joining Harris, Harmon was CMO and director of information management for the Military Health System of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).  In this role he served on the staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. For more than ten years, Harmon led EHR initiatives within the DoD. Harmon currently serves on a work group to standardize health information technology terms for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. 

Harmon “will be instrumental in our mission to deliver enterprise intelligence solutions and services for military and private healthcare clients, and in helping to improve healthcare delivery at the point of care for our veterans here at home as well as our troops serving around the globe," said Jim Traficant, vice president of Harris Healthcare.

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.